Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cliff Lee throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Ruben Amaro Jr. was hours removed from telling reporters that he is most definitely in the market for a starting pitcher, even two, when baseball’s Winter Meetings were greeted with a wild rumor Tuesday morning.

It said the Phillies were shopping Cliff Lee. And Cole Hamels.

It was a baffling suggestion, considering the Phillies in the last four months have re-upped second baseman Chase Utley (who turns 35 next week), re-signed catcher Carlos Ruiz (turns 35 next month) and added outfielder Marlon Byrd (36) — three signings that guaranteed that this organization has an expensive Old Timers’ lineup locked in for at least the next two years.

Teams do not go old in an attempt to be lousy, even if that’s exactly what happened to the Phillies last season. And that would make trading Hamels or Lee from an already shallow starting rotation contradictory to the quest – not matter how poorly people regard Amaro’s muddled game plan is.

Advertisement

Amaro, admittedly not opposed to lying in circumstances he deems deception beneficial, did provide an emphatic denial that either Lee or Hamels and their monstrous contracts are on the trading block.

“I’ve heard them,” Amaro said of the rumors. “They’re silly.

“We are trying to add (pitchers). I said before, the best way for us to win is with our pitching, particularly at the top of the rotation.”

Amaro insisted that the Phillies have one more significant free agent move to make, and that it likely will come in the form of a starting pitcher. However, after seeing both Jason Vargas (four years, $32 million from the Royals) and Ricky Nolasco (four years, $49 million from the Twins) get long-term contracts in the early weeks of free agency, he seems willing to wait for the market to settle down. His hope is to find a two- or three-year deal with one of the remaining free agents of note — Matt Garza and Bronson Arroyo are said to be the most appealing to the Phils.

“People are a little shell-shocked I think,” Amaro said of the early deals for pitchers, “and it has been on the freeze. It’s just like what happened before the meetings — one guy goes and you are going to see a domino effect.

“We’ve had some pretty good discussions. We’ve talked to some agents, we’ve talked to some clubs. Nothing happens until we either sign on the dotted line or sign off on a trade. But we’ve had some discussions.”

Amaro stressed any pitcher acquired would be a complement to Lee and Hamels, not a replacement.

“We are built to contend,” Amaro said. “That’s our job, to try and win.”

As the Phillies stand, they are about $15 million below where they want to sit in terms of payroll — about $170 million. Their best chance of freeing up more money in the budget would be to deal closer Jonathan Papelbon, who makes $13 million in 2014. Of course, in order to find a pairing on the trade market the Phils almost certainly would have to eat half of his remaining $26 million. Amaro said he thought he could get the OK to send money in a trade “if it makes us better.

“We’ll probably be where we were last year,” Amaro said of the Phils’ payroll. “We should be contending with this kind of payroll, at $165 or $170 million, wherever it shakes out to be.

“I think we have some flexibility to add. A lot of it depends on what makes sense for us.”

While Lee and Hamels might not be going anywhere at the moment, another disappointing first half of next season could change things. Lee has $62.5 million remaining over the next two years, but nearly $15 million of that will vanish by the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Hamels is a different story. He would have about $100 million spread over the final 4 ½ seasons of his contract by the middle of next season.

The Phillies would have to eat a ridiculous amount of Hamels’ contract to get anything of worth in a trade. As for Lee … the only worry might be that none of the three teams that have traded him as an established big-league pitcher over the years got anything of value in return.

Amaro did confess that another sour season could result in dismantling.

“At some point we may have to do that,” he said, “but not right now, we’re not. We’re not there.”